Menu

086: Down Terrace (2009)

Before reaching FrightFest successes with Kill List, British filmmaker Ben Wheatley debuted with this idiosyncratic crime drama. Down Terrace follows afamily of auspiciously amoral criminals who try to identify the police snitch amongst their regime.

Although the script might not be as lavish and darkly humorous as his second feature, the three central performances from Julia Deakin and Robin & Robert Hill are nothing short of sublime. Down Terrace is testament to Wheatley’s ability to create a new style of cheap, British cinema which chews on familiar gritty realism and spits it back out again. The result is messy, but surprisingly enjoyable.